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Almost everything is closed Christmas Day - including public transit - and availability of many things on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day (Dec 26 is also a holiday in the UK) is limited but there are some things open.

I would contact your hotel for recos on places that serve Christmas dinner in the area you will be staying - since getting long distances across the city will be difficult.

It's absurd to imply that most Central London restaurants are closed on Christmas Day - or that walking's the only option.

Most restaurants in the centre now open on Christmas Day. What DON'T open, though are many non-ethnic restaurants: so the one thing it's difficult to find on Dec 25 is a traditional British Xmas lunch. For this your choice is hotels (possibly including yours), though this is almost invariably overpriced, or a relatively small group of conventional restaurants, for which the best source is the Time Out article janisj suggests.

If these don't suit, then join the tens of thousands milling round London (by midday, the place is beginning to look surprisingly packed) simply deciding not to eat a conventional turkey and trimmings. Almost all of whom get a perfectly fine lunch without booking.

For travel beyond comfortable walking distance, understand Barclays Cycle Hire (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/barclays-cycle-hire/how-it-works known by all as Borisbikes). The crucial point is to hire, cycle to destination, put the bike into a dock, then after lunch hire a new one: otherwise you can pay a fortune - and possibly lose the bike, which gets VERY pricey.

Virtually all roads are devoid of traffic till about 11.30 (though even that is becoming increasingly untrue each year.) By late afternoon, many in the centre are quite busy, so don't assume it's safe to cycle all day. Even on Xmas Day, London is not a place to explore by bike: by mid-afternoon, you'll easily turn onto a road where you need all your attention focussed on surviving, and navigating can become very dangerous.